Exploring Emerald Park in Ireland: Our First Impressions
On October 13th, I had the pleasure of visiting Emerald Park, which is about 30 minutes north of Dublin, Ireland. This small park has 2 thrill coasters, 4 family coasters, a family log flume, a load of flat rides, a 5D cinema, and a zoo. Park hours during the month of October are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and crowds were minimal for the first two hours of operations.
Emerald Park entrance
Park Overview
Emerald Park has three main sections: Children’s Rides, Thrill Rides, and The Zoo. Once you enter the park through the main gift shop, the Thrill Rides and lockers are directly to your right, the Children’s Rides are to the left, and the Zoo is directly ahead. These sections do feel to overlap a bit as The Zoo is quite large, and there are several family coasters and attractions integrated around the Thrill Rides.
Tír na nÓg
The highlight of this park is its new 2024 section—Tír na nÓg, which is Irish for “Land of Eternal Youth.” This themed land feels separated from the rest of the park in distance and features an abundance of theming. From the buildings to the background music to the landscaping, this section is on par with the best theming in theme parks around the world.
Na Fianna Force and The Quest
The main attraction in Tír na nÓg is two interwoven coasters: Na Fianna Force and The Quest. The interactions in the two tracks remind me of Dueling Dragons at Universal Studios Orlando, and I appreciate how the two tracks interact. Occasionally, throughout the day, we saw the two trains running simultaneously, and it was fun to watch the interactions between them.
Na Fianna Force is a Vekoma Suspended Thrill Coaster and features two inversions, several overbanked turns, and an abundance of low-to-the-ground “feet choppers.” Our first experience on this ride was in the front row, and we were blown away by it. My girlfriend Cara and I walked off the ride, looked at each other, and said, “I think this is my favorite invert.” The smoothness of the ride, contrasting with the high G-Forces and low-to-the-ground turns, makes for an overall amazing ride experience. That, paired with strong throwing, land interactions, and many near-miss moments, including a flyover of The Quest’s station, makes this a perfect addition to the park and one of my favorite coaster experiences.
The Quest is a Vekoma Family Boomerang that interacts and weaves throughout Tír na nÓg and around Na Fianna Force. The ride is very smooth and a great starter coaster for kids who are looking to get into the thrills.
Thrill Rides
The rest of the Thrill Rides section of the park includes several Zamperla flat rides, a wooden coaster named Cú Chalainn made by The Gravity Group, a family log ride called Viking Voyage, and two more family coasters. Cú Chalainn was the first coaster we did that day, and we were both very pleasantly surprised at the smoothness of the coaster and the forces we experienced. The first drop is only 63°, but it is one of the best first drops on a wooden coaster I’ve experienced, being only surpassed by The Voyage at Holiday World.
Cú Chalainn
The two family coasters in this area are Flight School and Dino Dash. Both are very similar, and they offer two laps per dispatch, which is very enjoyable. Flight School is a little more tame and features a heavily themed queue line that includes a departure board for flights. Dino Dash is a little more intense due to larger drops and has a well-themed queue and attraction experience with lots of animatronic dinosaurs.
The Zoo, Tricky Trails, and the Children’s Rides
Emerald Park's Zoo occupies the vast majority of its space. This large area features an abundance of animals and wildlife, including Lemur Woods, a walk-through area where you can walk alongside lemurs. The Zoo is also home to the World of Raptors, a 30-minute show that showcases the zoo's spectacular birds of prey.
Emerald Park is currently offering a daytime family and children's Halloween event called “Tricky Trails.” We walked through the event to see it; however, we could not participate as adults. Some of The Zoo paths are blocked off and layered with Halloween decorations to create a fun trail and eye-spy activity for the kids. Throughout the trail, guests can interact with several characters from different stories, such as Snow White, Dorothy, and even some evil witches.
The Children’s Rides area of the park was not somewhere we intended to go until Cara pointed out there was an SBF Visa Spinner that I had to go ride. This children’s area is filled with a driving school, several small flat rides, a small train, the SBF Visa Spinner ‘Ladybird Loop’, and, most importantly, a Ben and Jerry’s.
Creech and Cara
Final Thoughts
Overall, we both enjoyed Emerald Park. Despite the weather being cloudy and below 50° the entire time, all attractions (including Viking Voyage) could remain open all day for the guests. Tír na nÓg was our favorite area, and Na Fianna Force was easily our favorite attraction of the day.
Getting to and from the park from Dublin was very easy. The 103 bus runs all the way to the city center. If you ever consider going to Emerald Park, we definitely suggest pairing it with a day in Dublin prior to your visit to see all the wonderful sights there as well.
